The Best Week Ever Pt 2 {Aquarium + Ear Piercing}

I was so excited Thursday morning to start celebrating Kinsey's 5th birthday that I performed a cardinal sin and woke up my sleeping baby; once the clock passed 8:26AM (her official birthday time) and she still wasn't awake, we sped things up a bit.

She forgave me when she saw what we were having for breakfast: funfetti cake waffles! (I absolutely adore my waffle maker!!!) And this little face.

The big event for the 5 year old's birthday was to visit the Aquarium. Our love for the Aquarium runs d-e-e-p. And I'm so biased because ours is pretty much the best. I can spend hours roaming around, taking the same pictures of the same fish, but its always magical. Because Brian was with us, we didn't do as much roaming but we did get to see everything and it was the least busy I've seen it in awhile, so that was great.

We ended up craving seafood (how horrible-and ironic- is that?!) so we decided to eat lunch at Bubba Gumps and opted to sit outside to enjoy the lovely weather. We devoured some calamari appetizers and Kinsey tried a new dish (popcorn shrimp) and really liked it! I was shocked, maybe her taste buds are growing up too? We were also plagued by pigeon pests and Brian had the brilliant idea to feed one from his hand. I shudder to think of all the germs... And then we were on to our next destination,

Claire's for some ear piercing action! This itty bitty has been talking about getting her ears pierced for awhile now and I was honest with her that it would hurt so she has postponed the event until now.  She picked out Amethyst earrings which also happen to be her birthstone (that which I did not know) and she sat in the chair doing deep breathing techniques. The big moment arrived and she teared up, blinked and was composed. It was very impressive. Afterward she told everyone "I didn't even cry!" and still shows off her earrings to any and everyone. ***Fun fact- I got my ears pierced at this same Mall but the Claire's has since undergone a move and a remodel, 25 years later!***

The evolution of ear piercing- before, during and after.

We ended the night celebrating by eating cake with my mom, brother, and grandparents. It was chocolate, per Kinsey's request.

It was such a fun day and Kinsey had the best time. And that's what this day (and week) was all about!

You can read Part 1 here.

 

My Favorite Pins

I'm taking a little break recapping The Best Week Ever to join Andrea and Erika to share my favorite Pins for Show and Tell Tuesday.

Next to Instagram, Pinterest is my favorite social media site. The visuals are inspiring, the vastness of the information found on there is awesome and all the choices in a single search makes it fun!

I usually search for food recipes, preschool activities and outfit formulas, in that order:

Recipes:

slow cooker chili//herbed potatoes//creamy garlic pasta//asparagus pasta//portobello pizza//asparagus tart//smore's bars

So sue me for all the carby, pasta goodness but at least there's a handful of vegetable sides to balance them out. And the best dessert bar ever!

Preschool Activities:

pom pom activities//letter practice//play dough mats//rain art//foam dough//foil painting//color experiment

These preschool activities have all been tested and approved! Probably my favorite of all time is the highlighter letter practice, I use that for students and Kinsey!

Clothes:

mustard scarf//mustard cardigan//plaid and polka dots//layers//burgundy and leopard//plaid//sweater over dress

And as you can see I have an affinity for the color mustard, stripes, polka dots, plaid and leopard prints and scarves. If I'm not anything at least I'm consistent ;) And here are a few of them in real life:

Let's follow each other on Pinterest!

Visit Work it Mommy Blog's profile on Pinterest.

Linking up with Andrea.

 

The Best Week Ever Pt. 1 {MY Museum}

Last week was the best week ever. Brian was off all week to celebrate our first little peanut and I can't even tell you how glorious it was for our family. We only had a few things planned so lots of down time was had. But when we DID have plans it was for super fun activities like visiting MY Museum.

"MY Museum is a playground for the mind. The museum was developed in 1997 to provide an environment where curiosity and creativity flourish, while both children and adults learn together through experience. Constructed as a microcosm of “what makes Monterey special”, this 8,500 square foot museum is packed with a variety of hands on exhibits, making each visit unique and exciting." -source 

This was not our first time at MY Museum but it was our first time this year and I was surprised to see some changes had been made. Even though the main exhibits stay generally the same, they do update little things that make it feel fresh and exciting every time we get to explore. Even better is the first Tuesday of every month admission is only $2!

First stop was at the bubble (for lack of a better name.) Basically, you stand on a platform inside a giant ring that sits in bubble solution and try to enclose yourself in a bubble by pulling on the handle. The solution wasn't mixed properly and it took some manual labor to get it going, but the girls got to experience standing in at least two bubbles. Which, of course, I couldn't photograph.

Next they "drove" an ambulance that had working lights and a stretcher with a CPR kid dummy (which kinda creeped me out) that Brielana was so concerned about and kept pointing and saying "baby."

The lunch counter was explored next and Brielana probably contacted 23,164 kinds of germs putting everything into her mouth.

The Farm was up next. This was my favorite exhibit! There was a mini field growing assorted fruits and vegetables that could actually be "picked" (they were attached to the stalks by velcro! Genius!) And a wall of clear PVC pipes that had suction that would give a scarf a crazy ride and then spit it out and the scarf would float down to the ground. I couldn't get a picture of the scarf traveling through the pipes but I did get Kinsey's reaction of the process which basically speaks for itself:  

And then apparently I stopped taking pictures(???) because several exhibits like the Theater (where there's a stage and costumes backstage), a two-story playhouse, a doctor's office (which a giant Operation! game board that used salad tongs and wooden play pieces) a tree house with a slide (that Brielana climbed up all by herself and slide down too many times to count) and a miniature golf course, that Kinsey had zero interest in.

It was a great start to The Best Week Ever!